Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

Thus, Malin listened attentively.

In the memories of this old gnome, Malin heard for the first time the complete story of what happened after the last Tide of the Dead. In that era, Deities and Chaos suddenly receded, leading various Churches to eventually split apart. Most sects established their own orders of Temple Knights, but some joined the Brotherhood, because all things need balance. If Deities do not appear for a long time, the Church is bound to fragment. If all Churches belong to the order of Temple Knights, an extremely terrifying situation could arise.

Malin agreed with this—when the True God that restrains human nature is absent, all kinds of hypocrisy and false faith brazenly emerge. Those sects that joined the Brotherhood... had their reasons.

But Malin would never take one side’s word for it, so he turned his gaze to the half-human beside him, still swollen in the face: "Since they are sects that joined the Brotherhood, why are you then at each other’s throats?"

"That’s because three centuries have passed, and a rift appeared between the Brotherhood and the Temple Knights. We watched those hypocritical sects establish their false faiths. It has been six centuries since the Deities showed any sign of divine presence, and the Temple Knights had long since morphed from an organization that saves and benefits the world into an ambitious abomination. They established the new pantheon of false deities while extending their reach into the mortal realm. The Western Human World thus suffered greatly. In the most tragic times, only the Glorious Union formed by Sidney and Farole continued to uphold the ban on slavery and forbade the false religions of deities from entering the two countries’ territories. Over the next four centuries, our Brotherhood and the Temple Knights fought continuously, just as two factions in the mortal realm waged seven world wars over four centuries."

"And then what? Someone must have stood up, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be protecting that member of the Temple Knights they were trying to kill." Malin didn’t mind letting these youngsters know he had just overheard them.

"Yes, Your Excellency, our war with the Temple Knights lasted four centuries. After that, mortals gradually grew weary of it all. Their kings, protectors of the people and defender-generals began to break away from the rule of the Temple Knights. We and the Temple Knights decided to no longer involve mortals in our wars. Hence, there were no more battles in the cities, but our war in the dark continued up until six hundred years ago. At that time, the great Grand Tutor and the most enlightened Primate of the Temple Knights concluded a peace treaty. All false deity religions were abolished. It took the Temple Knights two centuries to complete their internal purge... and we... produced an aberration like the Ancient Order Keepers."

At this point, the half-human was interrupted by a spit from the old gnome, then he looked at Malin: "Your Excellency, those Brotherhood factions born from the sects have reconciled with the Temple Knights. However, we must not forget the pain inflicted on us mortals by the Temple Knights. During their rule, the average lifespan of people in the Eastern Region was only thirty-nine years. Do you know, Your Excellency, what sort of horrendous monsters those innocents curse night and day at their wrongful deaths; their familial bloodlines thereby severed. Apart from us, the so-called rebels who uphold the ancient covenants, who else remembers? We keep our oaths, all to exterminate all the Temple Knights under the heavens."

With that, the gnome heaved a sigh, "Your Excellency, do you understand us?"

"Of course, I understand you. If saying ’sorry’ could absolve oneself of the wrongs committed by one’s ancestors, and by killing some dissenters one could then masquerade as a prodigal child who has seen the error of their ways, what would we need justice and righteousness for?" Malin said, turning his head to look at the combination of big fellow and half-human: "What about you? Do you have anything to say?"

"We indeed don’t have much to say. However, the peace treaty was signed by that Primate and our Grand Tutor. We should not overlook the efforts of our predecessors who yearned for peace. I certainly understand the Ancient Order Keepers’ hatred for the Temple Knights, but what use is embracing hatred alone? The world has been at peace for hundreds of years, humanity is striving to restore the glories before the great destruction, brethren, why can you still not let go of your hatred?"